Police question person of interest in hit-run that killed bicyclist

Jeffrey Schultz was killed in a hit and run in Forest Park. (Kristine M. Pawloski)

Rosemary Regina Sobol and Wes VenteicherTribune reporters

Police say they are questioning a person of interest in a hit-and-run accident that killed a bicyclist in west suburban Forest Park.

Forest Park Police Commander Ken Gross said charges could be filed later today or Wednesday in the death of Jeffrey A. Schultz, 40.

Schultz was riding a bicycle in the 1400 block of Harlem Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Sunday when he was hit by a vehicle that left the scene, according to Forest Park police.

Responding officers found Schultz lying in the road, unresponsive. Schultz, of Forest Park, was pronounced dead on the scene at 10:43 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The vehicle was found a short time later, unoccupied, in neighboring Berwyn.

Schultz was at a high point in his life, according to his father, Ronald Schultz, 67, of Bloomington. “He was a very happy boy. Things were coming together. He was very ebullient about life,” the elder Schultz said.

Jeffrey Schultz had been watching the Blackhawks game at a local pub before he was struck just blocks from his home, Ronald Schultz said.

He said his son worked in computer-aided drafting for OfficeMax until Friday, when his job ended as the company makes corporate changes. But he was optimistic about finding a new job, his father said.

Jeffrey Schultz had recently bought a two-flat in Forest Park and had started gardening, his father said. He was a DJ. He said his son idolized Frank Lloyd Wright and loved Oak Park.

Ronald Schultz said neither he nor his wife, Veronica, 64, bears any ill will toward the driver that struck their son.

“We don’t hate the person that did it. We just feel bad that it happened and we’re not going to let hate eat us up. We’re just going to concentrate on Jeff’s memory,” he said.